Refuge
photo : Syrian refugees travel by night in Hungary . with the biggest wave of refugees they have seen in the past 30 years , flooding their land from places like Syria , Kosovo , Afghanistan , Albania , Iraq , Pakistan , Eritrea , Serbia , Ukraine , and Nigeria .
Locals are unsure and scared , yet selfprotection sometimes gives way to concern for real people in real storms . Displaced people from war zones don ’ t have many options . They need refuge . They need help .
As believers , we respond with care and Good News . People fleeing for their lives need moorings in the form of friends and community , as well as practical provision to anchor them . We can help by meeting practical needs of clothing , housing and furniture ; locating family members ; teaching the local language ; and assisting to secure residence papers and jobs . Our role in their lives varies , but our ultimate task is to help asylum seekers find fellowships of believers who will love them .
Often , these refugees are Muslim , and we pray for divine appointments among them . My 70-year-old British coworker has been learning Swedish for four years . Recently , a young Syrian man approached her and asked , “ Will you help me learn Swedish while I wait for government papers and a chance to take the officially sponsored Swedish classes ?” This Muslim man wanted to be ready for a job when he was legally able . My coworker met with him to share what she knew , a few steps ahead of him on the journey . She also met his friends and family and , today , is slowly able to share her faith with them .
We never know what opportunities God may bring , but we pray , believing God wants to reach the hundreds of thousands across Sweden and the millions across Europe , with the Good News in multiplying churches .
Come , Lord Jesus , with your light to dispel the darkness !
* Names changed for security reasons .
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